This invention relates to portable insulated holders for individual beverage containers, and in particular to such insulated holders which contain refrigerant to keep the beverage in the container cooler longer.
It is a common problem that beverages, best taken cold, do not seem to stay cold enough long enough. Numerous patents have been devoted to the attempt to keep such beverages cooler or to keeping them cool longer. Several examples are referenced in Gordon, U.S. Pat. No. 4,383,422, and the Background of the Invention portion of that patent is incorporated herein by reference. The Gordon patent itself shows a holder for a beverage container, which holder includes a compartment or cartridge containing refrigerant. This refrigerant can be frozen or chilled to keep the beverage in the container cool longer. The compartment or container, however, is disclosed to have a flat top which does not contact modern concave-bottom containers except around the edge periphery, so the transfer of energy required for efficient cooling is limited.
The Clark patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,745,776, also shows a refrigerant element placed in the bottom of a beverage can holder. The refrigerant element there shown includes a raised middle top portion designed to accommodate to an extent a recess conventionally formed in the bottom of the beverage can. The top portion of the refrigerant element, however, is disclosed to be rigid, and the invention is directed to working with two types of cans only. The design is thus limited as to the types of containers to which it can be effectively applied.
This invention relates to improvements to the apparatus described above and to solutions to the problems raised thereby.